Dr John - Desitively Bonnaroo

A very underrated album from the good Doctor. His career is split between the voodoo psych madness of his first 4 LPs up to the Gumbo album and the laid back New Orleans funk of the rest of his work after his hit Right Place Wrong Time, which became something of an albatross round his neck as he seemed doomed to try and repeat it's success.

This was his follow up to the break through In The Right Place album and it unfortunately sank without trace despite being a superior set of tunes. While most people seem to regard his earlier spacier work as being the definitive Dr John sound there was always an accessible funky sound hidden in his music going all the way back to Mama Roux off his first LP Gris Gris, which Desitively Bonnaroo simply polished and clarified. While he seemed to slip into a bit of a rut with this approach on subsequent releases on this LP he presents a beautifully recorded set of blues, soul and funk expertly played by the Meters, who contribute a great deal to the grit and fire that keeps it from feeling like it is a by rote stab at the mainstream.

Dr John wikipedia

Les McCann - Talk to the People

Les McCann is a prolific jazz pianist and bandleader who released his first of over 50 albums in 1959. In the late 60s he became more experimental in his output with a variety of obscure instruments and recording techniques which can be heard on this album from 1972 . He was a renaissance man also known for his painting, photography and political activism.

Les McCann wikipedia

Santana - debut - self titled

Santana is the debut studio album by Latin rock band Santana released in 1969. Over half of the album's length is composed of instrumental music, recorded by what was originally a purely free-form jam band.
 At the suggestion of manager Bill Graham, the band took to writing more conventional songs for more impact, but managed to retain the essence of improvisation in the music.
The album was destined to be a major release, given a headstart by the band's seminal performance at the Woodstock Festival earlier that August. Although "Jingo" was not very successful (only reaching #56), "Evil Ways", the second single taken from the album, was a U.S. Top 10 hit.
Santana wikipedia

Gil Scott Heron - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox

This is Gil's debut album recorded when he was just 20 it nevertheless displays talent, political awareness and a literary wisdom far beyond his years, This is not as musical as his later work with Brian Jackson and contains some blatant homophobia but is regarded by many as the first rap album.
gil scott heron wikipedia